School Policies

Cincinnati Public Schools strives to provide transparency by publishing guidelines and policies accessible to parents, students and the community.

View and download: Shroder Middle School Parent & Student Handbook

Our ROAR Philosophy

Following our motto of "ROAR" - Respect, Order, Achievement and Responsibility helps to serve as consistent reminders to students that Jaguars always ROAR. High expectations can be achieved with hard work, a clear understanding of responsibilities, and mutual respect.

Arrival and Dismissal

• School Day: 8:00 AM – 3:00 PM
• Building opens at 7:30 AM
• No supervision is available prior to 7:30 AM

Transportation

Parents and students must find their routes by calling Metro directly (621-4455) or checking the route lists in the office. Lost bus cards must be replaced at the student's expense and can be ordered at the front desk through the main office. Replacement cards cost $15 each and can be purchased before school, during lunch, and after school only.

Main Office

The office is the business center of the school. No student should enter the office without permission from school personnel, tap on office windows, or attempt to attract the attention of other students in the office. Upon entering the office, the student should wait quietly until assisted by office personnel.

Only telephone messages of an urgent nature will be delivered to students by the main office. Parents are requested not to ask office personnel to deliver messages to students unless it is absolutely necessary.

Parent/Guardian Visits

The courtesy of a phone call prior to a visit, appointment, or conference is requested. Upon arrival at school, all visitors must report to the main office to show ID and secure a visitor's pass. Other visitors, including non-custodial parents, must be listed in Focus approved by the parent/guardian. All visitors must report to the main office to show ID and secure a visitor's pass.

Dress Code

The Shroder Middle School dress code is designed to create a safe and inclusive environment for all students, regardless of gender identity or expression. Our dress code prioritizes comfort, practicality, and respect for oneself and others. Students are expected to follow the school dress code at all times. Inappropriate dress may result in a non-academic exclusionary consequence such as detentions, school community service, etc.

General Guidelines

All students must wear appropriate tops, bottoms, and footwear to school on a daily basis. Clothing must cover all undergarments and private body parts including but not limited to chest, cleavage, torso, midriff, back, or buttocks.

Clothing must not depict or promote violence, hate speech, profanity, nudity, drug or alcohol use, or other inappropriate content. Clothing must not be overly revealing or sexually suggestive. No sleepwear may be worn within the school.

Tops

• Shirts, blouses, and sweaters must have a sleeve that covers the shoulder
• Tops may not be tied, pinned, or knotted up
• Midriff-baring shirts are not allowed

Head Coverings

• No hats, hoods, or other head coverings may be worn at any time in the school building
• The only exception to this rule is religious head coverings
• No durags or bonnets are permitted

Footwear

• Shoes must be worn at all times for safety reasons
• Shoes must be close-toed
• Slippers, house shoes, sandals and athletic slides are not permitted for safety reasons

Bottoms

• Shorts and skirts must be at least fingertip length when arms are at the sides
• Any slits or rips in pants should not extend above the knee unless something is worn underneath the pants to cover the skin
• Pants and shorts must stay up around the waist unassisted by a belt
• Leggings or other tight-fitting bottoms may only be worn if they are not sheer/see-through and are paired with a top that extends long enough to cover the buttocks

Accessories & Outerwear

• Hats and head coverings are allowed for religious or medical reasons
• Accessories that pose a safety hazard, such as chains or spikes, are not allowed
• No outdoor gear (jackets, heavy coats, scarves, gloves, etc.) may be worn in the building - these
• should be stored in the student's locker after arrival
• No blankets or other sleep items are permitted

Attendance

Daily school attendance is critical to academic success. Students should make every effort to attend school daily. Students are required by state law to attend school daily unless absent due to religious holiday, illness, death in immediate family, or other reason approved by the school administration.

Procedures 

1. Notify the school by phone (513-363-3100) between 8:30 a.m. and 10:00 a.m. each day the child is absent
2. Write a note explaining the absence
3. The student should give the excuse to the main office upon his/her return to school

Tardiness: Students are expected to report to school by 8:00 a.m. and to be in their first bell by 8:05 a.m. Students are also expected to report to class before the tardy bell for each class rings. Excessive tardiness to class and/or school will result in a behavior intervention referral. (Ex. school and class tardies can result in after-school detentions, and/or ALC, and/or removal).

Truancy: Any student absent from school without permission from school administration is truant.
Consequences will be assigned to students who are truant. A student may be cited to court for chronic truancy (This is handled by our school social worker).

Early Dismissal

• Students requesting an early dismissal must provide a note from a parent or legal guardian.
• Early dismissal requests must be submitted prior to 2:30 PM. The daily cutoff time is 2:30 PM.